Our Stormy Horizon

— it’s part of life at the end of the hurricane bowling alley. We watch storms form off the coast of Africa
and work their way across the Atlantic, soaking up moisture and strength as they hit the Caribbean
and Gulf Stream waters. These storms are factors and facts of life in our tropical environment.

The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926

The eye of the hurricane, with its period of relative calm, passed over downtown Miami and parts of Cocoanut Grove and South Miami early on the morning of September 18. The counter-clockwise rotation pushed a 10 foot tidal surge across Miami Beach.

Miami Beach Hurricane Damage 1926

On the morning of September 18th, 1926 the eye of a category 4 hurricane passed just south of Miami Beach. But more devastating than the winds, was the deadly tidal surge that swept across the island.

1926 Hurricane Hotel Damage

View of the Roney Plaza Hotel and pool in ruins after the hurricane, September 19, 1926.

1926 Hurricane

Flooded streets and stranded cars in a residential section of Miami Beach, September 19, 1926.

During the 1926 Hurricane

Miami Beach during the hurricane with an inundation from a 10 foot tidal surge across the island and wind whipping the palm trees
(HistoryMiami)

Andrew was the Great Hurricane of 1992

In mid-August of ’92 the first named storm of the year formed – Andrew.
Andrew would go on to become one of the most vividly remembered hurricanes of the 20th century.

Hurricane Andrew the most destructive hurricane in United States history, at the time. Its greatest impact was in South Florida, where it made landfall at Category 5 hurricane intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, with wind speeds up to 165 mph (270 km/h). The greatest damage occurred around the eye which passed directly through Homestead.

Andrew gave only a glancing blow to Miami Beach, and the storm’s rapid forward speed meant a tidal surge could not build up. This video was taken along Ocean Drive from 15th Street, south, as the storm hit. There are also radar views of the storm, and helicopter shots of the damage south towards Homestead.